Neville Goddard on Mark 7:1-5 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Mark 7 in context

Scripture Focus

1Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

2And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

3For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

4And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

5Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

Mark 7:1-5

Biblical Context

The Pharisees from Jerusalem confront Jesus about ceremonial washing before meals. It contrasts outward ritual with inner integrity.

Neville's Inner Vision

Observe that the scene is not about water but about the mind's preparation. The Pharisees symbolize fixed judgments, while the disciples eat with unwashen hands and yet their inner state remains untroubled. Defilement, in this light, is an inner belief - thinking you are separable from the I AM - rather than any bodily impurity. When you hold a new inner state now, the old ritual no longer defines you. The tradition of the elders is a habit of thought, a memory you can revise by turning from the sense of lack to the certainty that you are already clean, that your identity is the I AM that cannot be touched by external appearances. If you dwell in the realization 'I am whole', you will discover that outward conditions may perturb perception but cannot contaminate the truth within. Your true purity is the sustained awareness that remains untouched by seeming defilements, for it arises from the I AM in you, not from the hands that wash or do not wash.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes, breathe, and revise the scene with the affirmation: 'I am the I AM, already pure.' Feel that state settling in as you eat, letting judgments and external standards fall away.